Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced that outfielder Mike Tauchman is set to undergo an MRI for a knee issue that he experienced in the team’s split-squad spring training game against the Astros this afternoon.
Tauchman collided with the right field fence early in the game and was visibly uncomfortable while continuing to play in the game before exiting before the top of the fifth inning got underway.
Signed to a minor league deal in mid-February, Tauchman seemed like a very shrewd acquisition and figured to earn a spot on the Mets’ Opening Day roster if healthy. If the results of the MRI don’t show a significant injury, perhaps that’ll still happen, but it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if he were to begin the season on the injured list, even if only for precautionary reasons.
Fellow outfielders Juan Soto and Luis Robert Jr. are locked into the starting gigs in left and center, of course, and Tyrone Taylor always looked like a near lock to make the roster despite his poor 2025 season. And both Tauchman and top prospect Carson Benge appeared likely to make the roster. If Tauchman were to miss any time, Benge would obviously be lined up to the take the vast majority of reps in right field during his absence.
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